Hide and Seek
by AlwaysNinja
Summary: They were so intriguing, those figures in black coats... She wondered why they hid so much... A girl finds out a little too much about Organization XIII and learns that they will do anything to cover their footsteps.  Somewhat dark one-shot.  R & R!


**Hey everyone! This idea popped into my head when I was doing math today, and it just wouldn't leave my head! So, here it is, my first one-shot!**

**Warning: This is kind of dark and somewhat violent. Not graphic, just... violent.**

**Enjoy anyway!**

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><p>Muddy shoes pounded the pavement, flinging up droplets of water from shallow puddles. Messy brown hair flew backwards as feet moved forward. She was running, running from her problems. Running from her fears. Running from <em>them<em>.

Another short breath, another desperate burst of speed. Elaine was running for her life… even though she knew it wouldn't do her any good.

The girl cursed under her breath as another muddy puddle stained her boots. These were new, bought only a week ago. In fact, they were bought on the very day her problems started, the day that she first saw them.

Her curiosity had always been a problem. She couldn't help herself. Whenever something was out of the ordinary, she just had to investigate. Her unbridled curiosity was what had gotten her into this mess in the first place.

She had been walking back from the shoe store, happily swinging her bag back and forth. It was a Tuesday, and a glorious one at that. School had let off early, and her mom had treated her to a new pair of shoes. On top of that, she had found that perfect pair of shoes much quicker than she expected. She had time to spare, and the weather was beautiful. Elaine had figured that it was the perfect chance to go to the park.

She had called her friend, Rina, but she hadn't had the time to come to the park. So Elaine ended up wandering alone, listening to music, and musing about the world. After quite some time on the swings, she had decided to take a long walk home. She liked walking, after all. As she passed an alley, she had caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Being the curious teenager she was, she had turned around to look.

A person in a long black coat had been pressed up against the wall, clearly hiding from something... someone... everyone? It had looked like the person was simply observing everything. The heavy coat was out of place, since it was a warm spring day. Being brave to the point of reckless, Elaine had moved forward. And then the person slipped away. With eyes sparkling with the prospect of a chase, Elaine had followed. And that's where her mistakes began.

She had followed the person as they traveled around Twilight Town, her world, always staying hidden. After perhaps an hour, the mysterious figure had rounded a corner. Elaine had cautiously followed, only to meet emptiness. The person had just... disappeared. That was the last straw, the final factor that made her dedicate her time to finding out who this person was and why they were there.

It was the worst decision of her life.

Soon, Elaine's little game of hide and seek became a habit. Every afternoon, she would find some excuse to sneak out of the house. She would find the person and follow them, congratulating herself on her cleverness, on her ability to watch the figure.

She had no idea that _she_ was the one being watched.

One fateful Tuesday morning, exactly one week after the game had begun, she found out something terrifying, something that she never expected to hear. Her cycle had been broken by a movie with Rina, so she got to her hiding spot a little bit later than usual. This time, as she quickly scanned the empty streets, she saw two people in the strange black coats. And they looked like they were talking. Recklessly curious, she had snuck towards them. She almost wished she hadn't.

They were talking about someone who was watching them, who knew about them. Elaine briefly wondered if they were talking about her. Had they seen her? She thought that she was the seeker, the one who searched. Was it possible that she was truly the one who was going to be found?

Then one person, a man by the sounds of it, said something that chilled her to the core.

_"Eliminate her."_

Elaine's heart had stopped. If they were talking about her... She had turned around and bolted to school, just as it started to drizzle. The rain began to pour as she slipped into the school building, breathing heavily. Her game of hide and seek had twisted into something beyond what she had the capacity to handle. A long day of school calmed Elaine's nerves slightly, but the fear came back when she stood alone in front of the puddle-ridden concrete sidewalk. She had stayed late to finish a test, and she had promised her mom she would walk home. That was back when she wanted to observe the tantalizingly mysterious hooded figure, back when this was all an innocent hobby.

This brought her to her current state of fleeing through the wet and empty streets, wishing that the rain hadn't driven everyone inside, wishing that her mom had picked her up, wishing that she had never started this in the first place. It seemed to Elaine that every time she blinked, the amount of water in the streets grew. But that was impossible, since it wasn't raining. It was probably her growing hysteria, a mere illusion created by her oxygen-deprived mind.

She was halfway home, but it felt like she had been running for hours. Her breath came in short, ragged gasps, and her legs ached. She felt like collapsing, but she couldn't tell if it was from fear or exhaustion. Probably both.

It was as she rounded a corner that her good luck, previously keeping the hooded figures away and her feet moving, ended. She slipped and took a spectacular fall, crying out in pain as her palms fell on the pavement. Her skinned hands and knees stung, and blood was beginning to seep out of the shallow wounds. However, Elaine wasn't concentrating on these minor pains. She was concentrating on the mistake she had just made.

She had cried out.

Immediately, Elaine jumped to her feet and continued running, heart pounding faster than it ever had before. She could still make it if she ran, sprinted, _flew_. Her house was so close, just another block away. It wasn't too late, it wasn't too late. She could make it, she would make it.

When Elaine skidded into someone, she quickly backed away, an apology bubbling out of her chapped lips. It instantly died when she looked up. A person in a long black coat, with the hood up, stood silently in front of her. Elaine scrambled away, knowing it was hopeless but feeling obligated to try. The person didn't say a word, but snapped out a hand and grabbed the young teen's arm, jerking her backwards and causing her to slip again on the wet pavement. By this time she was slogging through a near flood in the streets, a centimeter of water lapping around her now dirtied boots. Not that it mattered, anyway. She was fairly certain she was about to die.

A last mad scramble proved hopeless. A combination of the flooded streets and Elaine's own exhaustion kept her from finding a foothold, and she fell limp to the ground. Her hands and knees stung in the dark waters and unrecognized tears streamed down her face. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions, none coherent enough to distinguish. Elaine glanced upwards to see the briefest glance of yellow eyes under the black hood. They narrowed, becoming almost predatory, and Elaine wondered why.

Then something struck her neck and she fell, limp, to the cold street. As soon as she fell, the waters began to recede, and a second figure stepped out from the shadows.

"I don't see why you had to do that. She was just a girl..."

The man with the weapon walked away, responding. "She saw you. Perhaps this will teach you to be more careful on your missions, Number IX."

With a sigh and a last glance backwards, the second man followed. "I guess so..."

They both disappeared in a swirl of purple shadows. Behind them, the rain began to fall again, filling up the shallow ditches around a once curious girl.

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><p><strong>... Well, this was dark. Oh well, I hope you enjoyed anyway! <strong>

**If you're confused about anything, PM me and I'll answer the best I can. **

**Review if you don't want the Organization after you... O.o**


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